Multi-story parking structures are used in many urban locations to facilitate the parking of vehicles. Vehicles parked in a multi-level parking structure may have interconnecting driving ramps that allow vehicles to access each of the levels. Alternatively, mechanical elevators may be provided to raise and lower vehicles to the different levels. In many urban locations, elevators are a preferred way to manipulate vehicles between levels since providing driving ramps substantially increases the size of the parking structure and also limits available parking spaces.
While multi-story parking structures are well known in urban locations, it is increasingly popular to also provide multi-level parking structures in residences or small businesses. As the price of land in urban and residential areas continues to become more of a premium, providing multi-level vehicle storage is one simple way in which to reduce the amount of space necessary to park multiple vehicles.
It is well known in the art to provide parking lifts or elevators wherein a load receiving platform receives a vehicle, and the platform is raised or lowered to place the vehicle at the desired level within the parking structure. A number of different types of mechanical lift devices may be used to raise and lower the platform, one known type being a scissor lift.
There are numerous examples of different types of vehicle parking structures that may be used to facilitate the storage of vehicles, and that make use of an elevator or lift to selectively move vehicles from one level to another. Some prior art references disclosing examples of such parking structures include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,674,938; 5,018,925; 5,024,571; 5,456,562; 6,241,049; 6,302,634; and 6,345,948.
One shortcoming with respect to many prior art references is that use of a single platform in a lift device results in a large gap being present in a higher level of the parking structure once the lift device is lowered. This large gap or hole can present a significant safety concern. Even for those lift devices that may have multiple platforms at different levels, one inherent drawback with even these types of lift devices is that there is still a large gap or hole present when the lift device is moving vehicles from one level to another since the platforms are stationary or fixed in their spacing from one another.
Therefore, there is a need for providing a vehicle lift device that enables vehicles be stored at multiple levels in the parking structure, and provides additional safety to ensure that the gap in the floor of the parking structure that receives the lift device remains exposed only a minimum amount of time when the lift device is being raised or lowered.
There is also a need to provide a vehicle lift device that takes advantage of proven construction in terms of the type of lift device, yet adds the capability for multi-level vehicle storage.